SHAH ALAM: Four more Royal Malaysian Customs Department (Customs) enforcement assistants were charged in the Sessions Court here, today, with accepting bribes amounting to RM39,800.
The four accused – Alias Mat Yusop, 48; Mohd Rizal Othman, 43; Mohd Shahril Mohd Sukaimi, 39; and Mohd Hanafie Che Mat, 39, – pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out before Judge Anita Harun.
Mohd Rizal was charged with nine counts of accepting bribes between RM200 and RM2,300, between February and April 2017, while Mohd Hanafi faced 10 counts of receiving bribes between RM150 and RM3,600, between June 2020 and January last year.
Mohd Shahril was charged with 26 counts of accepting bribes between RM200 and RM2,000, between April 2018 and April 2023, while Alias faced four charges of accepting bribes between RM500 and RM1,500, between June 2019 and July 2022.
All the offences were allegedly committed at bank branches at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Kajang, Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi and Bandar Puchong Jaya.
They were alleged to have received bribes from the owner of the Kalos Enterprise, by online transfer to their respective bank accounts, as an inducement to not inspect the company’s cargo lorries which ferry goods out of KLIA Cargo.
They were charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years or a fine, if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutors, Muhammad Asraf Mohamed Tahir; Nurul Atiqah Mohamad Alias and Maziah Mohaide, appeared for the prosecution, while lawyer, Ridha Abdah Subri, represented Mohd Rizal, and Muhammad Aizat Fakri represented the other three accused.
The court granted Mohd Rizal and Mohd Hanafie bail of RM15,000 each, while Mohd Shahril and Alias were allowed bail of RM10,000 and RM8,000 respectively, in one surety.
All the accused were also ordered to surrender their passports to the court and report to the MACC office in Putrajaya once a month, until the disposal of the case, and are disallowed from contacting or interfering with prosecution witnesses.
The court set July 11 for re-mention.
Yesterday, the four Customs enforcement assistants, who were also arrested in Ops Samba 2.0, were charged in court with receiving bribes from the same company, amounting to RM39,750, as an inducement not to check lorries ferrying goods from KLIA cargo.
